Lady of the Roses

THE LADY OF ROSES is a true love story of the medieval ancestors of both Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill. What makes the book even more fascinating this love story is based on actual facts. It centers around 15th-century England, on the brink of civil war. In the middle of this political turmoil, Isobel Ingoldesthorpe, a Lancastrian, and John Neville, a Yorkist fall in love and against all odds, marry. King Henry is mentally and physically ill. Queen Marguerite is left to rule, but the Yorkist are unsettled under her leadership.John Neville's brother is the Earl of Warwick is rich, powerful, and mistrusts the French queen. Warwick unseats Henry with Yorkist Edward of March. Not too long after Edward takes the crown, he marries Elizabeth Woodville in secret, against Warwick's wishes. Woodville demands land and titles for her relatives. She proves more vicious than the previous queen and war breaks out again. Throughout, John and Isobel strive for peace. This isn't possible as the War of the Roses rages around them. Sandra Worth threads together the most bittersweet love story since Romeo and Juliet. Her love for this time period shines through with her carefully sketched characters.

"I went to bed early one night...tired and preoccupied with musings about love. then - was it a vision, a dream? - Love himself suddenly appeared before me, taking the heart from my breast and handing it to Desire..." An apt quote bespeaks the essence of a tale, in this case the story of the uniquely passionate, tender and forbearing love between Isobel Ingoldesthorpe and John Neville, the Yorkist. Their love endures through the thorny historical events of fifteen years commonly known as the War of the Roses. Sandra Worth has once again captured the tornado-whirling shifts of loyalty as England watches two mad woman change the course of history, Marguerite d'Anjou - Henry VI's French queen - and later Elizabeth Woodville - Edward IV's beautiful wife. The former believes she is trying to bring peace to her simple, holy husband's land, the latter spouse flourishes by feeding years of imagined hurtful memories with unmitigated revenge. Their sheer, unadulterated terror will destroy England's aristocracy, including the famed kingmaker, Warwick, John Neville's brother. John himself will rise to the heights of power and lose almost all of it. Isobel is a feisty, intelligent and compassionate character whose observations have the same effect on the reader that she experiences. When one thinks that cruelty, savagery and insanity have reached their limit, another betrayal with its accompanying horrors or unexpected deaths arises to leave Isobel and all of England reeling with shock. When it seems that the common people are suffering the most from their leaders' cruelty and blood lust, it is Isobel who cares enough to help them survive and believe in something higher. Indeed Isobel will audaciously intervene in two hair-raising scenes to plead for mercy for two central characters. Isobel and John's intimate love is the glue holding together a world in which England's rulers precociously attempt to shape its history. Ms. Worth's singular talent lies in the masterful way she crafts plot and deftly presents an in depth, diverse set of historical characters whom the reader comes to deeply care about. Congratulations, Sandra Worth! Lady of the Roses is an unparalleled, beautiful, dire and memorable keeper in the top ranks of historical novels! What a treat! Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on January 23, 2008

The beautiful young Isobel Ingoldesthorpe, a ward of the Lancastrian queen Marguerite of Anjou, marries the love of her life, the Yorkist John Neville, despite the overwhelming odds against her. After this, however, Lady of the Roses departs from the commonplaces of romance fiction. Worth's meticulous research into the War of the Roses brings this tumultuous period of English history alive, and her telling of Isobel's story clearly benefits from the past 30 years of academic research into the lives of medieval women. Isobel manages her husband's estates during his many absences, organizes poor relief after the disastrous battle of Wakefield, and rides to the enemy court to plead for her imprisoned husband's life. She disguises herself to visit her husband in his military camp, and rescues the beleaguered Yorkists from ambush with timely warnings. Today we know that medieval women did all these things and more. Sandra Worth's website proclaims that she writes "History Worth Reading." Lady of the Roses is certainly that.

The rift between the Houses of Lancaster and York has led to civil war throughout England. With that backdrop, Lady in Waiting to Queen Marguerite Isobel Ingoldesthorpe and Lord John Neville fall in love. However, her liege is Lancaster while he and his powerful House support the York claim to the throne. Still after complex negotiations that anecdotally display how divided the country leadership is and an exorbitant bride price, John and Isobel marry. Their honeymoon is everything both wanted and more until affairs of state intercede. The Roses are preparing for war and though Isobel has some loyalty issues she believes she belongs at the side of her beloved John. As the hostilities between the Houses turn brutal with madness and butchery the norm, the couple is torn asunder, but their love remains stronger than ever keeping them together even in death especially with six surviving offspring. Known for her terrific in depth historical saga, The Roses of York (see CROWN FROM DESTINY, FALL FROM GRACE and LOVE AND WAR), Sandra Worth stays with the era providing a strong War of Roses tale. The story line is epic in scope using the fifteen years relationship between John and Isobel as a means to provide insight into England from 1456-1471. Historical fiction fans of this era will find LADY OF THE ROSES and the York trilogy worth reading. Harriet Klausner

John Neville, brother of the Kingmaker, and a die-hard Yorkist meets and falls in love with Isobel, the Lancastrian ward of Queen Marguerite. It's an unlikely match, but the two are a determined pair. Times are uncertain as the young couple begin their union for King Henry is mentally and physically ill, his powerful wife is determined to secure the throne for her son, and the Yorkists are not about to allow the French-born queen to rule unchecked. How will Isobel and John survive the inevitable conflicts that lie ahead? While little is known about Isobel, Ms. Worth brings her to life in two ways - first by having Isobel tell the story through her eyes, and second, by the incredibly detailed and beautifully researched scenes that fit into the historically known time period. Readers meet the lovely, intelligent girl that John falls in love with - a girl who grows into a vital, loving mother, wife, and chronicler of all she witnesses around her. John has long been considered a chivalrous, courageous soldier who loyally served both his older brother and England. LADY OF THE ROSES is Sandra Worth's latest novel after her hugely successful ROSE OF YORK trilogy about Richard III. Her hallmarks of meticulous research and excellent character development continue in this new story that pre-dates the trilogy. This book kept me up late, and I hated for it to end. LADY OF THE ROSES, like its predecessors, is A Perfect 10. And don't miss the ROSE OF YORK books: LOVE & WAR, CROWN OF DESTINY, and FALL FROM GRACE. Jani Brooks Romance Reviews Today